金管局再推金融机构设立合规官员

8月16日，国家金融监督管理局公布了《金融机构合规管理办法（征求意见稿）》（简称《管理办法》），并向社会公开征求意见。2023年11月，金融监督管理局曾就《金融机构合规管理办法（第二次征求意见稿）》征求过意见，但该办法最终未按计划实施。此次《管理办法》对生效时间做出了调整，规定将自2025年3月1日起施行，并设置了一年的过渡期，以方便相关公司进行整改。

尽管2024年的《管理办法》从上一版的5章55条内容增加至65条，但是政策逻辑保持了较高的连贯性。在适用范围上《管理办法》依然包括商业银行、金融控股公司、汽车金融公司等16类金融机构，而外国银行分行、外国再保险公司等外国金融机构仅要求参照执行。

执行层面上,《管理办法》强调设立首席合规官和合规官，并为高级合规官员划定了相对独立的地位和清晰的职能。首席合规官直接向董事会负责，同时不能负责管理金融机构的前台业务、财务、资金运用等与合规管理存在职责冲突的部门。在保证独立性的基础上，首席合规官有权对所在金融机构内部规范、经营管理活动、报送申请材料等事项进行合规检查，并负责与金融监管机构对接。

《管理办法》强调金融机构设立合规部门条线的目的之一在于推动金融公司内部培育合规文化并形成一股制衡力量，与金融监管机构共同化解金融风险。在8月21日的国务院新闻发布会上，金融监管局也表示《管理办法》有助于针对影响金融稳定的各大关键个人与行为落实监管要求，为金融稳定建立微观基础。

On 16 August, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) released another draft of the Administrative Measures for the Compliance Management of Financial Institutions (the Administrative Measures), which is currently open to public consultation. In November 2023, the NFRA had already been soliciting opinions on an earlier, second draft of the Administrative Measures, but these were ultimately not implemented as scheduled. This time, the timetable has been adjusted, stipulating that the Administrative Measures would come into effect on 1 March 2025, with a one-year transition period to allow relevant institutions to make required adjustments.

Although the 2024 version of the Administrative Measures has expanded from the original 55 articles across five chapters to 65 articles, the policy logic behind them remains consistent. The scope of application still includes 16 types of financial institutions, such as commercial banks, financial holding companies, and auto finance companies, while foreign bank branches and foreign reinsurance companies would only be required to refer to the Administrative Measures as guidelines.

At the operational level, the Administrative Measures emphasise the creation of senior positions focused specifically on compliance – namely a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and additional Compliance Officers – which would enjoy broadly independent status and have clearly defined roles. The CCO would report directly to the Board of Directors and would not oversee business departments that may have conflicting responsibilities with compliance management, such as front office, finance, or capital operations. However, due to the CCO’s independent status, the role would come with the authority to conduct compliance inspections across a range of other business areas, including internal regulations, business management activities, and documentation. Liaising with financial regulatory authorities would also be part of the brief.

The Administrative Measures highlight that one of the goals of establishing a compliance department within financial institutions is to foster an internal culture of compliance, while developing a checks and balances function that works together with financial regulatory authorities to mitigate financial risks. During the State Council’s press conference on 21 August, the NFRA also stated that the Administrative Measures would help introduce regulatory requirements for key individuals and behaviours that can have a significant bearing on financial stability. In this way, the Administrative Measures would go some way to establishing a micro-level foundation for financial stability.